West Bromwich Albion moved into the top four in the Championship over the weekend when they beat West Ham United 3-1 at the London Stadium on Saturday.
The Baggies have won three of their last four matches in the second tier after suffering back-to-back 1-0 losses to Midlands rivals Birmingham City and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
James Morrison has done a terrific job at The Hawthorns since signing a permanent deal earlier this year, but there is still plenty of football left to be played this season.
The club’s next game, for example, could be one of the manager’s toughest since he took the job, as they welcome Tonda Eckert’s Southampton to The Hawthorns this evening.
Why West Brom will need to be at their best against Southampton
West Brom will need to be at their very best to secure a win against the Saints tonight, because they are the highest-placed team that the Baggies have faced since they lost 3-1 to Middlesbrough in August.
Morrison’s side were not at the races that day at the Riverside, and they cannot afford to put in a similar display against Southampton in this game.
The Saints have only lost two of their 13 matches in the Championship so far this season and are currently on an unbeaten run of five games in the division, with only three goals conceded in that time.
Southampton’s unbeaten run | |
|---|---|
Opposition | Result |
QPR | 4-1 win |
West Ham United | 3-2 win |
Bolton | 0-0 draw |
Norwich | 1-0 win |
Portsmouth | 1-0 win |
One of the most impressive parts of this run is that their top goalscorer, Cyle Larin, only started one of those matches due to injury, but he could be back in action against the Baggies.
The Canada international is the second-top scorer in the Championship this season, with seven goals in ten starts, and could cause West Brom big problems if he is fit to start.
How West Brom can end Southampton’s run
Morrison must, now, unleash his own version of the Southampton centre-forward in an attempt to end Eckert’s unbeaten run of form in the second tier.
The Saints sit outside the top six for xGA (16.7), which suggests that they do give away chances, and the Baggies should take advantage of that by bringing Aune Heggebo into the team.
West Brom lined up with Felix Horn Myhre in the number ten role behind Jimmy-Jay Morgan for the 3-1 win over the Hammers last time out, but the Norwegian midfielder could be moved into a wide role in place of Rabby Nzingoula.
The 27-year-old talent, who scored against West Ham, is a versatile player who can play on either flank if required, which provides Morrison with the tactical flexibility to change his team around for this clash.
Heggebo should be brought into the side to add an extra attacking edge to the Baggies team, as he can be like Morrison’s own version of Larin in the centre-forward position.
The Norwegian marksman has averaged 0.70 xG and 3.27 duels won per 90, whilst Larin has averaged 0.56 xG and 4.56 duels won per 90, which shows that both strikers are traditional number nines who win duels and get into goalscoring positions on a regular basis.
Aune Heggebo’s last 5 appearances | ||
|---|---|---|
Opposition | Minutes | Goals + assists |
West Ham United | 13 | 0 + 0 |
Preston North End | 30 | 0 + 1 |
Blackburn Rovers | 27 | 0 + 1 |
Wrexham | 14 | 1 + 0 |
Birmingham City | 70 | 0 + 0 |
Heggebo has made a huge impact off the bench for West Brom in recent Championship matches, scoring one goal and providing two assists in his last four cameos.
The 25-year-old centre-forward, who last scored in the win over Wrexham, has scored three goals and supplied two assists in six starts in the league so far this season, which is far from a horrendous return.
Like Larin, he has shown that he can be effective as the talisman up front for the Baggies at times, and Morrison should now bring him back into the starting line-up in an attempt to get the better of Southampton.
Having Morgan, who scored and provided an assist against West Ham, and Heggebo in tandem against the Saints could cause their defence enough issues for the home team to create chances to win the game.
The Baggies need to pick up results in these games if they want to mount a genuine push for promotion between now and May, and starting Heggebo could play a role in them getting all three points this evening.
Source: www.footballfancast.com
